


Before I Knew It

by EverRoseKillings



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-05-21 12:28:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14915396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverRoseKillings/pseuds/EverRoseKillings
Summary: “She was beautiful.Her long blonde hair flowed like a golden waterfall down her back . She wore a white knee length dress, a jean jacket over top and pair of old cowgirl boots.  I couldn't help but stare at her. She was  the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note: This story was inspired by a theory that Daryl Dixon had a daughter before the apocalypse. Which could possibly explain why he was so persistent about finding Sophia.
> 
> Warnings: Swearing, alcohol and tobacco use, mentions of abuse

She was beautiful.   
Her long blonde hair flowed like a golden waterfall down her back . She wore a white knee length dress, a jean jacket over top and pair of old cowgirl boots. I couldn't help but stare at her. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Of course my simple minded piece of shit brother, Merle, noticed her too. 

We sat on the worn-out bar stools in a small, rundown bar just outside of Atlanta. This place was like a home away from home. The owner, Marcus, let me crash here when I was younger. When my old man would tear into me I would run outside and walk along the unkept roads of the back country. One day he was driving by and stopped to make sure I was alright. I was 14 at the time. He saw that I was a bit beat up. He had heard of my old man; he took me to his bar and let me stay as long as I wanted. Now I'm 24 and I am happy to call him a friend. He's one of the few that I got. 

"My, my, my she sure is a pretty one brother."

"You gonna bang her?" Merle said following my gaze. 

"Shut up." I said putting a cigarette between my lips. 

"Well, if you ain't, I sure as hell will give it a try." He said getting up from his stool. 

He walked over to where she stood at the end of the bar. He started with one of his usual pick up lines like "Hey, baby. You drinking alone tonight?" or "Damn, girl what's a fine lady like yourself doing in a place like this by yourself?" . He always got the same reaction every time. Her twirling a piece of her dyed bleach blonde hair around her nicotine stained finger and a flutter of her horribly applied fake eye lashes. It wouldn't take too long before she would be all over him and I would be left to walk home. That was his usual target and his preferred outcome but this girl was nothing like them. Her hair was naturally blonde and her features were soft. Her sun kissed skin was flawless.

As Merle approached she rolled her eyes and turned to him with a fake smile. I could hear them talk indistinctively. I thought that this girl was just going to be another one of those. One that Merle got and another one yet again that I didn't have the balls to talk to. I turned away and focused on my glass of whiskey in front of me, finishing the cigarette I had in my mouth. Taking the last drag off of it I extinguished the smoldering bud in an ash tray on the chipped wooden bar top. A loud smack sounded from across the room making my head snap in Merle's direction. Merle stood in front of he blonde girl with a hand over the left side of his face. 

"You little bitch!" He snapped as he pushed over a nearby bar stool. 

"Merle!" I yelled, running over to where he stood. "Go the fuck outside and wait in the truck." I said pointing to the door. 

Merle paced back and forth, glaring at the girl that I now was standing in front of. 

"Go." I said once again. This time he listened. He stomped his way through the small bar and threw open the door, letting it slam behind him.

"Fucking asshole." I mutter under my breath as I turned to face the blonde woman. 

Up close she was even more beautiful. She had the brightest green eyes. The sudden realization that those beautiful eyes were now on me made my cheeks flush. 

"Thank you." She said giving me a warm smile. 

"Uh-yeah. I-um." I stuttered looking at the ground as I rubbed the back my neck nervously. 

I heard her begin to laugh. My stomach dropped and my thoughts went to the worst. Great. She's laughin' at me just like all the others. I thought to myself. I started to turn towards the door to join Merle who was probably passed out in the truck when a small hand caught my cheek.   
Those emerald green eyes stared directly into mine before she pressed her perfect pink lips against my cheek, sending electricity shooting through my entire body. Her hand lingered a few seconds longer then I expected. I came to appreciate those seconds because after she removed her hand from my cheek, I almost wanted to beg her to put it back. I closed my eyes, reminiscing on the feeling. It wasn't until after I had opened my eyes, and she had disappeared without a trace that I noticed that I was holding my breath.

I looked around, hoping to find her in the old run down bar. To my disappointment, she was nowhere in sight. Mind racing, I turned and stepped through the door into the muggy Georgia night.  
My old man's truck was still parked in the same spot as always and, just as I thought, Merle was slumped over in the passenger seat. I shook my head and opened the driver's side door.  
The whole ride home I thought about that girl. How her lips felt against my cheek. And just how much I wanted to see her again. 

I spent the next 2 weeks going to that bar. I would ditch Merle with his tweaker buddies and go sit at the bar all day and well into the night, only leaving when the bar closed at Midnight. I sat on the same stool, waiting for the day that I could see her again.

Then, finally, the day came. 

"Bar closes in 20 Daryl", Sandy said. 

I had known Sandy for about as long as I've known Marcus. She was a new hire when I started hanging around the bar. She was middle aged now, her brown, silver flecked hair was pulled up into a messy bun at her crown. 

I nodded at her and swirled the small amount of whiskey that was in my glass. The clock read 11:40 pm. I was about ready to give up on the whole idea of seeing her again and leave the bar never to return when the front door shot open. A woman with golden blonde hair came stumbling through, her face in her hands. As she ran past me I heard her sobbing. She threw herself onto one of the ripped bar stools and rested her head on the chipped bar top. 

"You all right sweet heart?" Sandy said with a concerned tone to her voice. 

Part of me wanted to go up to her and comfort her. While the other part told me to stay out of her business. But really what did I have to lose? I had been coming to this bar everyday for 2 weeks hoping to see her again. Now I had my opportunity. I got up slowly from my place at the bar and walked over to her. Cautiously I placed a hand on her quivering shoulder. Her head snapped up to look at me. Her once soft green eyes were now full of terror and confusion. Her perfect sun kissed skin was now tainted with fresh, bleeding cuts and yellowish purple bruises. My jaw dropped at her appearance. I felt my knees buckle beneath me, making me drop to one knee. Within the confusion and fear that her eyes still held, came a hint of recognition. The edges of her lips curled upwards slightly letting me know that she remember me. I placed a hand carefully on the side of her bruised face as anger began to boil inside of me. 

"Oh, god." Sandy said, putting a hand over her mouth. "Should I call someone?"

"Who did this to ya?" I asked. 

Her tears began to stream heavier than before down her cheeks. She shook her head slightly and placed it on my shoulder. I hesitated before wrapping an arm around her shoulder, rubbing it in an attempt to comfort her. I sat there and let her cry until she just couldn't anymore. When the tears could no longer flow she picked her head up and looked at me. 

"Thank you." She sniffed, wiping the last stray tears away from her eyes. 

"You got somewhere to stay tonight?" I asked. 

She shook her head no. I looked over at Sandy who mouthed "She can stay here." I smiled thankfully at her for her kindness. 

"You wanna talk 'bout it?" I asked, looking back at the broken girl. 

Again she shook her head. 

I gave her an understanding look and helped her up off the stool. In the back there was a futon in the break room that she could sleep on. I knew Marcus wouldn't mind once I explained the situation. I knew exactly what had happened to her without her even saying a word. She was being abused. I knew all too well about what that was like, thanks to my old man. No one, especially her, should have to go through that.

I pulled aside the black cloth that acted as a door to the break room. It wasn't so much a break room as it was a small living space. Marcus used to spend days here at a time and made this place a home away from home. It even had a coffee maker, a microwave, and a mini fridge. All of which sat on a make shift countertop made of a piece of wood set on two saw horses. 

She sat down on the edge of the black futon. I half expected her to go to sleep rather quickly but she just sat there hugging her elbows and staring off into space. I grabbed a blanket that sat neatly folded on the worn black leather recliner in the corner of the room and draped it over her shoulders. I then took a seat the recliner and rest my elbows on my knees. We sat in silence for a while before Sandy came in.

"I'm gonna start locking up. I already called Marcus and told him what happened. He's okay with it." Sam day said peaking past the curtain. "Want me to stay the night with her Daryl?" 

"Can Daryl stay with me?" The blonde woman said. I realized at that moment I hadn't even learned her name yet. 

"Of course." Sandy said quietly, a small smile spreading across her lips. "Good night" 

"Good night. And thank you again." I said. 

"Any time darlin'." Sandy said allowing her thick southern accent to come through. 

I heard the front door close and the entire building went dead silent. I cleared my throat and sat back in the chair. The ever growing silence was becoming awkward so I decided to break it with a question. 

"I never asked you what your name was did I?" 

The blonde woman looked at me, her green eyes still wet from her tears. She gave me a half smile before answering. " My name is Claire." 

I smiled warmly. "It's nice to meet ya Claire. I'm Daryl." 

"It's nice to meet you Daryl. Thank you for staying with me." Clair said. Her posture had finally relaxed and her eyes were now soft and kind with no hint of the fear or confusion. 

"No problem. I know when I used to stay here I got lonely." I said leaning forwards once again. 

She cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brow with confusion. I thought that telling her my story would make her feel less alone. 

"I used to come here all the time back when I was a kid." I began. The memories of running away from home after my old man would rough me up started to play in my head. 

"Why?" Claire asked. 

"My old man was a real asshole. He would come home drunk after being gone for 3 days and beat me and my brother. My brother's turning out to be just like him. I'm sorry about him by the way. He doesn't know when to stop. Especially when he's drunk." 

"You mean that guy that was flirting with me the day we met was your brother?" 

I nodded. "He's the biggest asshole I know but he's family. And ya can't choose your family.” I paused before continuing. “ You don’t have to tell me what happened just know that if ya ever need anythin’, just ask.” 

“Thank you, Daryl. That really means a lot to me.” Claire said rising from the bed. 

She walked over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. I returned her embrace without hesitation. I couldn’t help but inhale her scent. She smelled of peaches. I would later come to call her my little Georgia peach for that reason. She released her embrace and walked back over to the futon. I began attempting to get comfortable which proved to be a bit difficult. 

“Daryl?” Claire said softly. I paused my struggle and looked at her. 

“Hmm?” 

“Would you sleep by me tonight?” She asked looking down at the ground. I could tell she was scared. 

“Sure.” I said nodding softly. 

I got up from the chair and climbed onto the futon. I expected her to stay to one side of the thin mattress so when she wrapped an arm around my waist and tucked her head into my chest I was surprised. I was a bit hesitant to touch her but her hand grabbing my arm and putting it around her was all it took for me to understand what she wanted; to feel protected. I rested my chin on the top of her head. It wasn’t long before her breathing slowed as exhaustion set in. I was not far behind and before I knew it we both drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Language, Violence, Mentions of Abuse

I woke up the next morning with Claire still in my arms. Her face was peaceful, although the once faint bruises that tainted her skin now were a deep purple and spread across her left eye. I kicked myself for not giving her an ice pack last night. 

I slid out of her embrace slowly, trying my best not to wake her from her peaceful slumber. She needed every minute she could get. The aged bedframe groaned as I removed myself but her rhythmic breathing continued as I placed her hands beside her and let out a relieved sigh. I moved into the make shift kitchen and made coffee with the very minimal knowledge I have. I watched my mother make it a lot as a child but I haven't actually made any coffee myself. Marcus had a machine that had to be as old as I was. As the brown liquid began to drip into the water stained glass pot, I saw Claire stir on the futon in my peripheral vision. I turned to watch her as she stretched her arms above her head and opened her beautiful emerald eyes.

"Morning." She said, smiling warmly at me. 

"Mornin'." I said. I couldn't help but smile back at her. "Coffee?" 

"Mmm. Yes, please." She said sitting up. 

As soon as there was enough I grabbed two styrofoam cups from their package on the counter. I handed one to her and sat next to her. We both took a sip and cringed at the flavor. 

"That is probably the worst cup of coffee I've ever had." She said crinkling her nose. 

"Gee, thanks." I said half joking. "It is pretty bad huh?" I said placing the cup on the floor. 

"It is. It really is." She said. She paused for a moment before continuing. "So thank you." She said as she put her head on my shoulder. 

"For the shitty coffee?" I asked. 

"Mhmm. Nobody's made me coffee before, especially not..." 

She stopped mid-sentence and sat up, her head leaving my shoulder. 

"His name is Trent. We've been together since high school -" she began. 

"Ya dont have to." I said knowing how hard it must be for her to recall these memories. 

" I know. It will help to talk about it though." She said flashing that beautiful smile once again.

I nodded, signaling her to continue. 

"Trent was the kind of guy that had a temper. Little things would set him off. In school, he would regularly end up in detention. Me, being the sheltered little church girl, had a huge crush on him. I mean he was everything that I wasn't allowed to have, which of course made me want him even more. One day I got exactly what I wanted. My senior prom was just around the corner and I was waiting for my chance to ask him. Little did I know that he was going to ask me that day. After school I went right up to him and asked him, knowing very well that I might be denied, but I didn't care. To my surprise he said yes. The rest was history. We hit it off right away. At first he treated me like a princess. He would bring me home flowers, kiss me, tell me that he loved me. But after a while, after we moved in together, he started to distance himself. He would come home late. I knew he was cheating on me but I was so afraid to lose him that I ignored the facts and lied to myself." 

Tears were beginning to fill her eyes as she recalled the events. 

"I finally asked him if he was cheating and of course he said no. And I believed him. Life went on. But the late night calls from a mystery number and the week long "business trips".... I couldn't take it anymore. I had to leave. I couldn't live with a man that I knew was cheating on me. So, I packed my bags. I was just about get into my car when he came home surprisingly early. He grabbed me by the wrist hard enough to leave bruises and dragged me back up the stairs and into our apartment. People only stared as he did it. No one helped me. He said that if I ever tried to leave again that I would regret it. I didn't think he would ever lay a finger on me, until yesterday that is. I tried to leave again but he caught me and he hit me over and over." 

She was sobbing now. Her tears streaming down her cheeks. I took her into my arms and tried to comfort her. 

"I just barely got away. If it hadn't been for that bitch calling him I don't know where I would be right now. But I do know that I'm glad I'm not back there with him. I'm never going back either. I would rather die." She said, her words muffled slightly. 

"I'm so sorry Claire. That asshole don't deserve a girl like you." I said releasing her from my embrace. With my thumb I wiped away a stray tear that ran down her flushed cheek. My hand linger for longer than was probably necessary but she didn't seem to mind. 

"Thanks Daryl." She said. 

The sudden loud noise of the front door being flung open made my head swing around. The bar doesn't open until noon. Which I knew was at least 4 hours from now. 

"Claire!" A deep male voice said. 

"Oh god. It's him. " I heard Claire whisper. Her breathing quickened. 

"It's alright. I'll take care of it." 

I started to get off the futon but her hand grabbed mine, pulling me back down. 

"No. He will not hesitate to hurt you Daryl. I can't see that happen, especially not to you." 

Her words took me back. Nobody ever expressed that they actually cared about me. I gave her a reassuring nod before pushing past the black cloth in the doorway. The lights of the bar hadn't yet been turned on. The the only light was that what came through the dirty old windows, lighting the room dimly. A figure moving in my peripheral made me turn to see who it was. What I saw was a 6' 3" blonde haired man. He had toned muscles and looked like he went to the gym way too often. Most people might have found him intimidating but he didn't scare me. I'd dealt with worse. 

He looked me square in the eyes and asked "have you seen a little blonde girl come through here? I've been looking for her all night and really need her to come home." 

"Nah. I ain't seen no one like that come through here." I lied. 

His eyes shifted from me to over my shoulder, growing wide as they locked onto what I could only imagine to be Claire. It all happened so fast. Trent put his hand on my shoulder to push me out of the way but I had already sent my fist flying forward with all the force I could muster towards his stupid, abusive face. My fist landed on his left cheek send him to the ground. Pain shot through my right hand but I ignored it. The adrenalin and anger that was coursing through me had me on top of him in a split second, pounding my fist into his face. His face becoming more bloodied with each blow. I felt a pair of hands pull at my shoulders and Claire's voice begging me to stop my assault. Planting one last blow I grabbed the collar of his shirt and brought him with in an inch of my face. 

"You ever lay a finger on her again, nah you even look at her again. I will beat your ass into the ground." I said in a low growl, meaning every single word that I said. 

Trent couldn't get up to leave fast enough. He averted his gaze away from me and Claire, and left the bar. I could feel warm blood dripping from my right hand. Claire threw her arms around my neck. I placed my left arm around her waist and whispered 

"It's over." 

Claire released her embrace. Her eyes found my bleeding right hand making her eyes widen. "Holy shit are you okay?" She asked tenderly taking my hands and examining it. 

"I'm a'right" I said quietly, collecting myself from what happened. 

Claire guided me back into the room and sat me on the futon. She grabbed an old first aid kit from the makeshift counter and began to clean the cuts in my hand with an alcohol wipe. We sat in silence until she was satisfied with how clean the wounds were, then she wrapped my hand with clean gauze and bandage tape. 

"Thanks." I said. 

"No, thank you Daryl. You have done more for me in the past 24 hours than any man ever has." 

"Asshole like that don't deserve a girl like you." I said. "Hell, even I don't." 

"Who ever said that?" She asked. 

"Dunno." I said shrugging shoulders. 

"Well, who ever said that is crazy." Claire said. "Cause I think a nice, handsome guy like yourself deserves a nice girl which mean that's definitely not me." 

"Claire I got somethin' to confess. When we first met I thought you were the most beautiful girl I'd ever laid my eyes on. And after that night I came back here every day and waited for my chance to talk to you again; hell, just see you again. I had hope that even a beautiful girl like yourself would have it in her heart to give this redneck asshole a chance. But when I saw what piece of shit did to you, all I could think about was how could someone do that to someone like you. A caring, beautiful, funny, and amazing girl. I don't know if you'll give me a chance or if you'll just laugh like the others did, but for you I'm willing to take that chance. Claire, will you be my girl?" 

Claire stood there, eyes wide and speechless. The seconds seemed to drag on for minutes. The minutes like hours. When she didn’t say anything I began to lose hope and feel like a fool for think that she would consider me. But a small hand on my cheek and soft lips on mine changed those thoughts in an instant. She tasted even sweeter than I expected. Our mouths moved and melded together in perfect sync. Our lips parted and she said “Of course I’ll be your girl."

Before I knew it, she was mine.


End file.
